Ex-CFO Gets 8 Years For Stealing $2.5M From Nonprofit

By George Woolston

The former chief financial officer for a Garden State nonprofit has been sentenced to eight years in state prison for stealing more than $2.5 million from the organization to renovate her home and buy two properties and a Harley-Davidson, among other personal purchases, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced on Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Justices Bar Shaken Baby Syndrome Testimony In 2 Cases

By Parker Quinlan

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday barred a medical expert from testifying that the only possible cause of two babies' injuries was so-called shaken baby syndrome attributable to abuse, finding that the diagnosis is medically unreliable.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Pardons Nursing Home Owner In $39M Tax Fraud

By Asha Glover

President Donald Trump granted clemency to a nursing home operator who had been sentenced to three years in prison for a $39 million employment tax fraud scheme involving care centers he owned across the country.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Rutgers Coach Claims Bias, Retaliation In Firing Suit

By Carla Baranauckas

A former Rutgers University head women's gymnastics coach claims in a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit that she was wrongfully terminated after a politically charged investigation that cost more than $700,000 and failed to find any misconduct.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gibbons Atty Among 4 New NJ Superior Court Nominees

By Jake Maher

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has nominated a slate of attorneys to be new state Superior Court judges, including the head of government and regulatory affairs at Gibbons PC and a state prosecutor.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Thomson Reuters Balks At AI Co.'s Fair Use Appeal

By Adam Lidgett

Thomson Reuters wants the Third Circuit to back a district court's decision that an artificial intelligence-powered legal search engine's use of Westlaw headnotes did not constitute fair use, saying the AI company "pilfered" copyrightable content to make a competing business.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pa. Paper Asks 3rd Circ. To Stay Healthcare Restoration

By Braden Campbell

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette urged the Third Circuit to pause its obligation to restore workers' union healthcare plan while it challenges a recent ruling that its shift to a company plan violated federal labor law, saying the order threatens to impose costs it can't recover if it wins its challenge.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Conn. Safari Co. Wins Bid To Arbitrate Hippo Attack Suit

By Carla Baranauckas

A Connecticut-based tour operator can force into arbitration a wrongful-death lawsuit involving a hippopotamus attack that killed a New Jersey woman while she and her husband were on safari in Zambia, a state judge ruled.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Panel Expands Scope Of Ex-Reed Smith Atty's Bias Claims

By Rose Krebs

A New Jersey appellate panel on Thursday ruled that a former Reed Smith LLP attorney is entitled to pursue more damages and obtain expanded wage data in her gender discrimination suit against the firm, saying a trial court incorrectly applied certain statutes when it limited the damages and data she could seek.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bank Says Ex-Compliance Chief's Suit Belongs In Fla., Not NJ

By Sydney Price

First National Bank of Pasco has urged a New Jersey federal judge to either toss a lawsuit its former chief compliance officer brought alleging he was fired without just cause or transfer it out of the state, arguing that any misconduct in question, if they occurred, were described to have taken place in Florida.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Legal Marketing Co. Misclassified Call Center Reps, Suit Says

By Irene Spezzamonte

A legal marketing and client support company misclassified call center representatives as independent contractors despite exercising control over their working conditions in a manner typical of employers, a worker claimed in a proposed collective action filed in New Jersey federal court Thursday.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Contradictory Rulings Show Complexity Of Swaps Regulation

Recent divergent rulings, including two by the same Nevada judge, on whether the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling laws when applied to event contracts traded on U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated markets illustrate the uncertainty regarding the legality of prediction markets, say attorneys at Akin.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bonus Spotlight

Law Firms Begin Upping The Ante For Associate Bonuses

By Tracey Read

Trial boutique Wilkinson Stekloff LLP is exceeding the year-end associate bonus scale set by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, announcing bonuses late Wednesday that are 150% of market.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CFPB Will Shift Remaining Lawsuits Over To DOJ

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be handing off its enforcement lawsuits and other litigation to the U.S. Department of Justice as the Trump administration prepares for the consumer agency to run out of money, Law360 has learned.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Trump's Epstein Directive Puts SDNY Prosecutor In A 'Pickle'

By Phillip Bantz

Manhattan chief federal prosecutor Jay Clayton appears to have been backed into a "horrible" corner with a "no-win" outcome as a result of a directive from President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's ties to prominent Democrats, experts say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Comey Says DOJ's Conduct 'Shocks The Conscience'

By Hailey Konnath

James Comey on Thursday reiterated his request that the U.S. Department of Justice be forced to disclose all grand jury materials related to his indictment, noting the government has conceded that the grand jury never saw the operative indictment and saying the purported misconduct "shocks the conscience."

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

X Corp. Ends $90M Fee Suit Against Wachtell

By James Mills

X Corp. has ended its California state lawsuit against Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz over $90 million in legal fees tied to the fight over Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, according to a court filing.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Meta Loss Shows Time Not On Enforcers' Side In Tech Cases

By Bryan Koenig

Meta's triumph over a Federal Trade Commission antitrust case Tuesday hinged on a D.C. federal judge's finding that the company lacks a monopoly in the present day, highlighting some of the challenges of using slow-moving litigation to challenge fast-moving markets.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Senate Panel OKs Miss. Judge, US Atty Nominees After Delay

By Courtney Bublé

After weeks of holdup, nominees for Mississippi federal courts and U.S. attorneys were voted out of committee on Thursday, following an impasse between Republican senators.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Senate Passes Bill To Protect State Judges From Threats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bipartisan bill to beef up security for state and local judges.

Bill attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Antitrust Chief Says Agriculture A 'Top Priority'

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice's top antitrust official said enforcers have already opened several investigations in the agriculture sector, including into meatpackers at the direction of President Donald Trump, and called the industry a "top priority" for the agency.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »